The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) has granted Oregon Parks and Recreation Department’s Natural Areas Program limited authority to administer and manage a program for federally threatened and endangered invertebrate species, as provided under Section 6 of the US Federal Endangered Species Act.

ORBIC supports the rare and endangered invertebrate program in the following ways:

• Gather as much information as possible on those invertebrates that are currently considered rare, threatened or endangered in order to enable managers to protect critical habitat or populations.
• Promote inventory and taxonomic work on undescribed or poorly known species which may face significant threats.
• Assist in the USFWS recovery efforts for the three invertebrates already protected under the Endangered Species Act. This includes coordination, inventory, management and research projects for the Oregon silverspot butterfly, the Fender's blue butterfly, Taylor’s checkerspot butterfly,  Franklin’s bumblebee, and the vernal pool fairy shrimp.

The list of invertebrate species in the book Rare, Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon reflects our current understanding of the status of the rare invertebrates in Oregon. The list, however, represents only a fraction of the diversity of invertebrate species found in Oregon, and is generally biased towards groups that have been well studied (e.g. caddisflies, butterflies, mollusks), and is lacking for groups of other species that are poorly known. In cooperation with federal agencies and universities, we are hopeful that our ongoing efforts and partnerships will continue to build upon our current knowledge of rare invertebrate species in Oregon.

You can download a spreadsheet of the invertebrate list or view the PDF of our current and archived RTE books at our Rare Species page.

One of the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center's main tasks is to list and rank rare, threatened, and endangered (RTE) species in Oregon. Using our Biotics biodiversity database of species occurrences throughout the state and by consulting with agencies, specialists, academics, and the public, ORBIC reviews and publishes this list every two to three years.

Species ranks are important for natural resource management, prioritization of restoration or conservation efforts, and to highlight species that need more research or protection. The ranks that ORBIC produces are shared internationally through the NatureServe network of natural heritage programs and conservation data centers.

Definitions of ranks, lists, and abbreviations used in the RTE publications can be found on the RTE Definitions page.

Versions of our Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species publication that are available as PDF format are listed below with links to those documents. Paper copies of older editions of the book may be available. Details on obtaining printed copies from Odin Ink at PSU are at the bottom of the page.

Oregon Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species Publications

2023 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon (in prep.)

The full publication is in prep. In the meantime, excerpts will be posted as they become available.
Excerpts by Category	PDF Excerpts	Excel Excerpts
Vascular Plants - final version, January 2023	2023 Vascular Plant List	2023-rte-vascs.xlsx
Non-Vascular Plants and Fungi - final version, January 2023	2023 Non-Vascular Plant and Fungi List	2023-rte-nonvascs.xlsx
Additional Resources
Summary of Vascular and Non-Vascular Plant and Fungi Changes	2022 Plant and Fungi Species Recommendations (Excel)
Codes and Abbreviations	2023 Codes and Abbreviations

2019 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2019 Publication in PDF Format	133 pages	3.1 MB
Excerpts by Category	PDF Excerpts	Excel Excerpts
Vascular Plants	Vascular Plant List with Drops and Name Changes	2019-rte-vascs.xlsx
Non-Vascular Plants and Fungi	Non-Vascular Plant List with Drops and Name Changes	2019-rte-nonvascs.xlsx
Vertebrate Animals	Vertebrate Animal List with Drops and Name Changes	2019-rte-verts.xlsx
Invertebrate Animals	Invertebrate Animal List with Drops and Name Changes	2019-rte-inverts.xlsx
Additional Resources
Summary of Vascular and Non-Vascular Plant and Fungi Changes	ORBIC 2018 Rare Plant and Fungi Meeting Recommendations.xlsx
Summary of Vertebrate Animal Changes	Book_verts_2019_changes.xlsx
Summary of Invertebrate Animal Changes	Book_Inverts_2019_changes.xlsx

 

2016 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2016 Publication in PDF Format	130 pages	2.3 MB
Excerpts by Category	PDF Excerpts	Excel Excerpts
Vascular Plants	Vascular Plant List	2016-rte-vascs.xlsx
Non-Vascular Plants and Fungi	Non-Vascular Plants and Fungi List	2016-rte-nonvascs.xlsx
Vertebrate Animals	Vertebrate Animal List	2016-rte-verts.xlsx
Invertebrate Animals	Invertebrate Animal List	2016-rte-inverts.xlsx
Additional Resources	PDF Resources	Excel Resources
Ecoregion Map	OR Ecoregion and County Map
Codes Used	2016 Codes
Summary of Vascular Plant Changes		vasc_2016_changes_summary.xlsx
Summary of Non-vascular and Fungi Changes		nonvas_2016_changes_summary.xlsx
Summary of Animal Changes		2016_rte_animal_changes_summary.xlsx
Errata		errata_040517.xslx

2013 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2013 Publication in PDF Format	111 pages	1.1 MB
Excerpts by Category	PDF Exerpts	Excel Excerpts
Vascular Plants	Vascular Plant List	2013-vascs.xlsx
Non-vascular Plants/Fungi	Non-Vascular Plant/Fungi List	2013-nonvascs.xlsx
Vertebrate Animals	Vertebrate Animal List	2013-verts.xlsx*
Invertebrate Animals	Invertebrate Animal List	2013-inverts.xlsx**
Additional Resources	PDF Resources	Excel Resources
Ecoregion Map	OR Ecoregion and County Map
Codes Used	2013 Codes
County Names and Abbreviations		ORCountyAbbrev.xlsx
Summary of Vascular Changes		2013-vasc-rank-changes.xls
Summary of Non-Vascular Changes		2013-nonvasc-changes.xls
* Prior to 10/10/2013, this file had some errors in the federal status column. These have been corrected in the current file. ** Updated 12/29/2014. Updated distribution of Pterostichus johnsoni and federal status of Euphydryas editha taylori.

2010 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2010 Publication in PDF Format	105 pages	1.6 MB
Excerpts by Category	PDF Exerpts	Excel Excerpts
Vascular Plants	Vascular Plant List	2010-vascs.xls
Non-vascular Plants/Fungi	Non-Vascular Plant/Fungi List	2010-nonvascs.xls
Vertebrates	Vertebrate List	2010-verts.xls
Invertebrates	Invertebrate List	2010-inverts.xls
Additional Resources
Ecoregion Map	OR Ecoregion and County Map
Codes Used	2010 Codes

2007 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2007 Publication in PDF Format	100 pages	1.3 MB
Excerpts by Category	Excel Sheet
Vascular Plants	2007-vascs.xls
Non-vascular Plants/Fungi	2007-nonvascs.xls
Vertebrates	2007-verts.xls
Invertebrates	2007-inverts.xls

2004 Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

Full 2004 Publication in PDF Format	105 pages	1.3 MB
Excerpts by Category	Process Notes	Excel Sheet
Vascular Plants	Vascular Process Notes	Vascular Plant List
Non-vascular Plants/Fungi	Nonvascular Process Notes	Non-Vascular Plant/Fungi List
Vertebrates	Vertebrate Process Notes	Vertebrate List
Invertebrates	Invertebrate Process Notes	Invertebrate List

Archived Rare Species Publications

Year	Title	# Pages	Size (mb)
2001	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	92	.389
1998	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon	88	5.39
1995	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	84	6.0
1993	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	80	6.5
1991	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	64	4.8
1989	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	43	5.4
1987	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	41	3.0
1985	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	35	2.5
1983	Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Plants and Animals of Oregon	32	2.0
1979	Rare, Threatened and Endangered Vascular Plants in Oregon (auth. Jean Siddall et al.)	114	5.8

Notes on Species Lists in PDF and Spreadsheet Formats

These spreadsheets contain the same information in the RTE publication, but in an easily sortable format. Files are Microsoft Office and Open Office compatible.

A note on federal status: Before 2019, in the book and the PDF lists, federal status was reported on the state level. In the Excel lists, federal status was reported on the national level. For example, Columbia spotted frog is a federal Candidate in Oregon (C), but other populations in the US do not have this status, so its national federal status is partial status (PS). After 2019, both the PDFs and Excel excerpts only report the federal status as it applies to populations in Oregon.

Printed Books from Odin Ink

The 2016, 2013, and 2010 editions of the RTE book are available for printing from Odin Ink, an on-demand printing company at PSU. Printed books are about $9.00, depending on page number, plus shipping and handling. Shipping generally costs about $7.00 flat rate. Bulk order discounts may be available. Call Odin Ink at (503) 226-2631, or e-mail [email protected] to place your order.

Ranking Systems

An important responsibility of ORBIC is to review and rank rare, threatened, and endangered species of Oregon. We assign Heritage Ranks to animals, plants, and fungi that are or may become rare in Oregon. Heritage Ranks are decided through expert review, discussion, input from interested parties, and trends in sightings and population data.

Heritage Ranks

The Heritage Ranks are a part of an international ranking system first developed by The Nature Conservancy and now managed by NatureServe. This system is used by Heritage programs in all 50 states in the USA, at the 8 Canadian Conservation Data Centres, and network partners in several Latin American countries. A brief definition of these ranks can be found below. You can find more detailed discussion of these ranks at NatureServe's Conservation Status page.

In addition to ranking each species' conservation status, Heritage programs also rank each occurrence, or population group, of species that are found in each state. If you are interested in learning how we rank occurrences, see the Ranking Species Occurrences - A Generic Approach article by NatureServe, updated in January 2008. More background information on occurrence ranking can be found in the NatureServe Ranking Methodology publication from April 2009.

State and Federal Ranking Systems

In addition to our Heritage Ranks, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW), the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) also rank species. We include these rankings in our publication, Rare,Threatened and Endangered Species of Oregon.

You can view the current ODFW and USFWS rankings for vertebrates at ODFW's Wildlife Division. ODFW has also compiled a Sensitive Species list to address species which are not currently considered threatened but which may need proactive protection to maintain their populations. Current ODA plant listings are found at their Plant Conservation pages.

Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon

ORBIC publishes this book every two or three years with updated ranks for rare species in Oregon. The latest version of the RTE book is available as a PDF file at our Rare Species Lists page. Archived PDF versions of the RTE books are also available on this page. Paper copies of older editions of the book may be available. If you are interested in these paper editions, please contact [email protected]. Future editions of the RTE book will be available as a PDF file only.

Ranking Definitions 

ORBIC participates in an international system for ranking rare, threatened and endangered species throughout the world. The system was developed by The Nature Conservancy and is now maintained by NatureServe in cooperation with Heritage Programs or Conservation Data Centers (CDCs) in all 50 states, 9 Canadian provinces, and in 13 Latin American countries. The ranking is a 1-5 scale with 1 being critically imperiled and 5 being secure. When determining species rank many factors are taken into account, including the number of known occurrences, threats, inherent sensitivity, area occupied, and other biological and anthropogenic factors. Documentation for several species ranking decisions are available on our Ranking Documentation information (see below).

Global Ranks

Ranks are developed for different portions of a species range. The first and most critical rank describes the species status globally, and best describes the risk of extinction. This is called the Global Rank and begins with a "G". If the taxon has a trinomial (a subspecies, variety or recognized race), this is followed by a "T" rank indicator. A "Q" at the end of this line indicates the taxon has taxonomic questions. National Ranks beginning with the letter "N" describe a species' status in specific nations such as the United States, Mexico, or Canada, but are not often used in the US.

State Ranks

The most widely used NatureServe rank in the United States are the State Ranks, which describe the rarity of a species within each state's boundary. These State Ranks begin with the letter "S". Global, National, and State ranks all use a 1-5 ranking system, summarized below:

1 = Critically imperiled because of extreme rarity or because it is somehow especially vulnerable to extinction or extirpation, typically with 5 or fewer occurrences.

2 = Imperiled because of rarity or because other factors demonstrably make it very vulnerable to extinction (extirpation), typically with 6-20 occurrences.

3 = Rare, uncommon or threatened, but not immediately imperiled, typically with 21-100 occurrences.

4 = Not rare and apparently secure, but with cause for long-term concern, usually with more than 100 occurrences.

5 = Demonstrably widespread, abundant, and secure.

H = Historical Occurrence, formerly part of the native biota with the implied expectation that it may be rediscovered.

X = Presumed extirpated or extinct.

U = Unknown rank.

? = Not yet ranked or assigned rank is uncertain.

More details on the Heritage Ranking system and more definitions can be found at the NatureServe Web site and on their Conservation Status page. A complete description of the ranking process is available from Natureserve's Methodology for Assigning Ranks.

Heritage Lists

ORBIC evaluates the NatureServe ranks and further refines the data for state application through placing species on their Lists 1 through 4. The fact that Oregon and California have such high rates of species endemism was the reason for the implementation of the 1-4 Heritage Listings in Oregon and California. In particular, most heritage programs consider all G1, G2 or G3 taxa as needing protection. Based on a snapshot search of NatureServe explorer, 1138 taxa in Oregon are ranked G1-G3 (or T1-T3). Of these, 615 taxa ranked as a G3 (or T3, excluding taxa with G3 in range ranks). Many of these are rare endemics which have few documented threats. Because of this, ORBIC evaluates G3 taxa individually based the significance of the species Oregon distribution, and overall threats to the taxa. This evaluation is the primary analysis used to determine which ORBIC list they are placed on.

Brief Summary of ORBIC Lists:

List 1 contains taxa that are threatened with extinction or presumed to be extinct throughout their entire range. These are the taxa most at risk, and should be the highest priority for conservation action. Includes many rare Oregon endemic species.

List 2 contains taxa that are threatened with extirpation or presumed to be extirpated from the state of Oregon, but are secure or abundant elsewhere. These are often peripheral or disjunct species which are of concern when considering species diversity within Oregon's borders. They can be very significant when protecting the genetic diversity of a taxon. ORBIC regards extreme rarity as a significant threat and has included species which are very rare in Oregon but secure elsewhere on this list.

List 3 contains species for which more information is needed before status can be determined, but for which there is reason to believe they may be threatened or endangered in Oregon or throughout their range. Many taxa on this list may eventually be determined to belong on List 1 or List 2, so it is important that they be looked for.

List 4 contains taxa which are of conservation concern but currently do not meet the criteria for begin considered threatened or endangered. This includes taxa which are very rare but are currently secure, as well as taxa which are declining in numbers or habitat but are still too abundant to be proposed as threatened or endangered. While these taxa currently may not need the same active management attention as threatened or endangered taxa, they do require continued monitoring.

List 4 includes species that may be of conservation concern from a global or state perspective.

Ranking Documentation 

Tables of Results:

Vascular Plants  

Fungi and Lichen  

Vertebrates   

Invertebrates

Introduction to Natural Heritage Ranks

One of the Oregon Biodiversity Information Center's tasks is to rank rare species in Oregon according to how at risk they are in Oregon. For endemic species and those for which we have ranking responsibility, we also assess species' status on a global scale. The conservation status ranks for the species on the linked pages below were assigned following NatureServe's protocol on species assessment. An explanation of the methodology, a description of the factors being assessed, and the spreadsheet calculator tool can be viewed and downloaded from NatureServe's Rank Calculator website. The calculator version used for these evaluations is noted in the footer of the document; if there is no footer the version was 2.0. For a brief description of the meaning of the rank codes, see our Rare Species Ranking Definitions (section above).

Ranks are assigned as a couplet, one for the global level and one for the state/Oregon level. If only the global ranking form is available, then the species is an Oregon endemic and the state rank and information will be the same. If only the state ranking form is available, then the species occurs outside of Oregon as well and Oregon does not have global ranking authority. The global ranks for these species therefore reflect the published values in the current Rare, Threatened, and Endangered Species of Oregon list, and global ranking authority rests with another state or with NatureServe.

Many of the vascular plant species have also been assessed for vulnerability to climate change using NatureServe's Climate Change Vulnerability Index calculator. Where it has been calculated, the score from the CCVI is listed in the "Climate Vulnerability" column of the table. This rank informs the "threats" section of the Element Rank Calculator, and provides a measure of how vulnerable a species is to negative impacts from predicted climate change. See NatureServe's Climate Change Vulnerability Index page for more information or to download a copy of the calculator.

The element ranks assigned to the species under the Survey and Manage Assessment project (completed in 2004) followed a similar protocol as the NatureServe Element Ranking methodology but the calculator tool had not been developed at that time. The ranks in the tables linked above supercede all other previous ranks for a given species.

As time allows more species will have their ranks documented and published in these tables, please check back periodically for updates.